Darkness Falls
by Bellemaine Chercoeur
Summary: Chapter Two Added. A Slytherin student has been taken by the Sangmalren, one of the oldest and darkest magics Voldemort possesses, and now his attention has been fixed upon Hermione Granger. Can help arrive before it is too late?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Hermione Granger and Severus Snape, along with the title character and everyone you recognise in this world belong to J. K. Rowling, who is most definitely one of the most influential and popular writers walking the earth at this moment. This work means no infringement, and no profit will be made, and believe me I will be buying any further publications that JK and Bloomsbury publish regarding Harry. Roll on Volume 5! 

Title: Darkness Falls

Author: Bellemaine Chercoeur

Email: bellemainec@yahoo.com

Rating: R (Violence, blood, evil intentions)

Summary: A Slytherin student has been taken by the Sangmalren, one of the oldest and darkest magics Voldemort possesses, and now his attention has been fixed upon Hermione Granger. Can help arrive before it is too late?

Darkness Falls

by Bellemaine Chercoeur

belleminaec@yahoo.com

Draco Malfoy knew the exact moment that he lost control of Goyle. It has happened during the summer break, between their six and seventh years at Hogwarts, when Goyle's father had decided that his son was old enough to attend one of the Death Eater gatherings. Goyle had attended and fallen headfirst into their world. The ideals, the actions, the... the perversity. From the moment the mob had begun to chant, Goyle had been consumed by their world. And now, he, Draco Malfoy, was going to be the one who had to help pay the price for Goyle's induction into darkness.

Malfoy's father had never allowed his son to attend a gathering. Yet, Draco was resourceful enough to have attended, in a limited capacity, any number of Death Eater meetings. Especially when they were held in his own house. His father might not have approved, but Draco had known that the Dark Lord himself would have been pleased with his ingenuity in hiding in the secret passages below the family dungeon, watching the flow of blood and the death of dreams. He had been fifteen when he witnessed his first death. A young muggle boy, beaten and sacrificed to the Dark Lord. His father had wielded the knife that had finally taken his life. It might have been a merciful act; the child could have not stood any more pain. What had disturbed Draco the most was the enjoyment in his Father's eyes as the knife plunged into the battered body. The enjoyment and the fact that the young boy had silver blonde hair. Just like his own.

From the time he had started at Hogwarts, secure in his own importance as a Malfoy, his lineage as a Slytherin and his future as a Death Eater, Draco had tried to convince his Father that he was ready to attend a gathering. Lucius had always refused, saying that the time was not right, that he needed more preparation, that the Dark Lord had not called him. Draco's pleading fell on deaf ears, and eventually he had resorted to watching, listening and learning, a dark apprentice in training. 

And thus he had seen Goyle's initiation into their world, an opportunity Goyle had seized with both hands. And with that initiation, Draco knew his own hold over him would slip. Goyle was not bright, and could be easily led, but Draco knew that he now had a dark rival for Goyle's dedication. A rival he had no hope of completely overcoming. Goyle had been judged worthy enough to become a Death Eater while Draco was still waiting for his chance. When they returned to school for their seventh year, Goyle was happy to take his place at Draco's side, but he began to question. His response to directions was not as immediate, he occasionally refused, and on one momentous occasion he dared to correct a statement Draco had made. In front of others. When Goyle realized what he had done, Draco had thought for a moment that the might faint, and then he saw in Goyle's expression the mantra that he was chanting to himself. "You are a Death Eater, Goyle." That thought alone gave him enough backbone to hold Draco's stare.

It had been a thoroughly unnerving experience, and even though it had not been repeated, Draco saw the ever-increasing effect of the moment. Just like a stone cast into water creates ripples, Goyle had begun a new life at Hogwarts. A life where he slowly began to experience the heady thrill that comes from the imposition of your will on others. It had begun innocently, or perhaps not so innocently, enough. An intimidating glare to ensure that the first years jumped aside as he walked the halls. Slowly this changed to holding doors open for him. Subtle jostling of nearby people in the halls, and then unexplained accidents when he was in the vicinity. 

And then, pain. Draco remembered the first girl to fall down the stairs. A sweet, shy, pretty, little Hufflepuff, she had been in the hospital wing for three weeks after she fell down two flights of stairs, bizarrely losing her balance from a third staircase above. Draco was not sure how Goyle had managed it, but he was sure it was Goyle. And as the accidents increased amongst the lower year levels, and the whispering spread through the houses, the younger students fled from the mere sight of Goyle. Eventually, even the youngest Slytherins did not walk their own halls alone. He was sure that only the worst cases ended up in the hospital wing, never numerous enough to draw the eye of the teachers, or severe enough that their cover stories of their own adolescent clumsiness were disbelieved.

Lauren Bones had been the final confirmation for Draco. A year younger than himself, and with none of the quietly caring geniality of her elder sister Susan, Lauren had been a rebel from the moment she stepped off the train. Long dark hair and a ready smile, she was determined to push the limits of tolerance. She dyed her hair purple, appeared with various body piercings, insisted on mis-wearing her uniform, and was committed to standing up for what she believed in. One Saturday afternoon, the same afternoon that most of the school had been at Hogsmeade, Draco had surprised Goyle washing his hands. Repeatedly. Draco had said nothing, but he had noted the suppressed excitement and flushed victory in Goyle's eyes.

Lauren's disappearance had been discovered that night. She was not present for dinner, she did not return to her dorm room. None of her friends could remember when they had last seen her in Hogsmeade, who she had spoken to or even if she had left the school grounds. The search was extensive and ongoing, but Draco knew that they would not find her. And every time he saw Professor Dumbledore, his concern for the Bones girl clear on his face, Draco felt an unpleasant kick in the region of his stomach. Susan left Hogwarts to stay with her parents, and Draco was glad to see her leave. She was too much of a reminder, and with her absence he was able to partially convince himself that the slightly sick feeling he was carrying was not guilt or remorse or sorrow or any other muggle-like emotion. He was a Slytherin, and a Malfoy and a Death Eater in Waiting; and a girl like Bones was unimportant. If Goyle had felt the need for some……fun….then he, Draco Malfoy should only be …upset..that Goyle had not invited him along. Try though he might, Malfoy found himself unable to fully commit to that train of logic.

Whatever he had done to the girl, it seemed to pacify Goyle for sometime. He had almost returned to his normal position as a glaring offsider, and Draco had started to relax, pushing the unidentified worry and guilt to the back of his mind.

And then it happened. She had been rushing down a hallway and around a corner, desperate to get to the library to return some books. She was making enough noise to herald her arrival, and Goyle had stepped away from the wall, directly into her path. The impact had sent the books flying everywhere. Goyle had said nothing, merely stared down at her with a blank expression as she scrambled to pick them all up. With a flustered, "so sorry about that Goyle, didn't see you there!" Hermione had scurried off to the library. Goyle had watched her go, and then the words, "Stupid bitch," fell from his lips. 

Draco knew that Goyle had chosen his next target. 

Which was why he was now lurking in the shadows outside Goyle's room. Sure enough, there he was, creeping down the hall ahead of him. Draco watched him stealthily leave, then turned to follow him. It was after curfew, and every student should have been in bed, but Draco knew that Goyle had somehow found a way to summon his target.

He shadowed Goyle through the hallways. Hogwarts seemed unnaturally silent and still to Draco, it was almost as if the school itself knew that something was about to happen. Goyle headed to the Arithmancy classroom, and had hidden himself behind the slightly ajar classroom door. Draco had settled himself down to wait, when he heard the clatter of someone racing towards them. From the direction of the Gryffindor tower.

Draco's stomach sank as Hermione Granger ran towards him, hurriedly fixing her prefects badge to her robe. Her hair was tousled and she looked as if she had hurriedly dressed. Hermione pushed the classroom door open, and called, "Professor Vector? You sent for me?"

As Draco waited in the shadows behind her, Hermione moved further into the classroom. "Professor Vector? Are you here?"

As the door silently began to close behind her, Draco jumped forward. His movement caught Hermione's attention and she turned in time to see Goyle closing the door. Draco heard her ask, "Goyle?" 

Silence followed. With a sinking heart, Draco realized that Goyle must have laced the room with silencing charms to ensure that he was not disturbed. Draco discovered that he was not able to blindly leave Hermione to suffer at Goyle's hands. Pulling out his own wand, Draco tried to open the door. He started with "Alohomora", moved up through explosive and incendiary spells and eventually tried brute force, but the magical wards were too strong. The eerie silence sliced along Draco's nerves like a serrated knife; Draco found that his imagination was sufficient to conjure all sorts of possibilities. When he caught himself wishing he could hear Hermione screaming because he would then know she was alive….at that point he knew that it was past time to admit that the situation was entirely beyond his control. He needed to get help, and he could think of only one person who would believe him unconditionally.

Severus Snape had just set aside the last graded fourth year assignment when Draco Malfoy barged into his rooms. Fixing him with the chilly glare normally reserved for Neville Longbottom, Snape raised an eyebrow and asked, "To what do I owe this entirely inappropriate and unasked for intrusion, Mr Malfoy?"

Snape's eyes narrowed as he took in the hectic flush along Draco's cheekbones and the way he gasped for breath. Draco stared dumbly at him, somehow unable to form the words to tell Snape what he feared. He opened his mouth, gasping for breath, "Professor….you have to…he has her….Father will kill me, but I swear…" 

Snape stood and grasped Malfoy by the shoulders. His voice harsh, he said, "Breathe, boy. Tell me what is wrong."

Draco nodded, and forced his breathing into a normal pattern. Drawing a deep breath, he determinedly held Snape's gaze. "You must believe me, Professor. We don't have much time. Goyle was initiated as a Death Eater over the summer."

Snape flinched sharply, his eyes widening. Draco watched as Snape assimilated that information, and everything fell into place. Draco knew that Snape alone of everyone here at Hogwarts would be able to fully understand that horror. His response was a single question, delivered with intense concentration. "Lauren Bones?"

Draco nodded, and found the words that he needed to say spilled effortlessly from his tongue. "Yes. I am convinced it was him. But Sir, he has fixated on Hermione Granger now. I followed him tonight, and he somehow convinced Hermione to come to the Arithmancy classroom. I tried to get in, I swear, but the room has been enchanted."

At Hermione's name, Snape froze. It took all of Draco's Slytherin and Malfoy training to not recoil before the expression that settled on Snape's face. Pure anger mixed with bitter knowledge and icy contempt. Snape strode towards the door and Draco hurried after him. "Show me Mr Malfoy. For all our sakes, hope we are not too late."

They rushed through the hallways, Draco clinging to Snape's heels. In the heat of the moment, he allowed one small corner of his brain to puzzle over Snape's reaction. After all, Hermione was a Gryffindor and most assuredly not one of Snape's favourites. In that moment, Draco realised that the same sense of honour and, though he almost shuddered to think it, decency that had sent him to Snape in the first place, also ran true in this teacher. Although they prized ambition and valued lineage above all, there were limits to what a Slytherin would accept. Goyle had crossed the line. There was no place for him here at Hogwarts.

**

The eerie silence, which had sent Draco flying to Snape's door, remained unbroken around the Arithmancy classroom. With a single glance, Snape took in the scorch marks and charred wood that proved Draco's attempts to gain entrance had been genuine. Wand in hand, Snape strode towards the door. Draco stepped back, certain that Snape would be repelled. At the last moment, Snape stepped to the side and gestured towards the surrounding wall. With a tremendous crash, the masonry blasted outwards into the hallway. Before the dust had settled, Snape entered the classroom, with Draco close behind him.

Snape surveyed the wrecked classroom with an icy intensity that sent shivers down Draco's spine. Desks were overturned, pictures had been knocked from walls, and chunks of the walls seemed to be missing. Near the front of the classroom, a gaping hole seemed to lead to the depths of the school; it's jagged edges proclaiming its unexpected creation. A pall of dust and smoke still lingered in the air, along with the scent of something Draco could not quite place. It smelt metallic, almost coppery, and he could almost taste it in the back of his throat.

As Snape drew a deep breath and turned his cold angry gaze towards him, Draco realised what that scent was. Blood. A vast amount of blood. He looked around and could see no trace of it; nothing in the room was marked with that vivid ruby force. Yet the stench of blood lay heavy in the room.

Noting the slightly queasy look on Draco's face, Snape moved to stand in front of him. He placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Go to Professor McGonagall at once, Draco. Tell her what you have told me, and tell her that I have followed them into the lower levels of the school. Make sure she realises the seriousness of this, Malfoy, convince her that this is not some Slytherin plot. Tell her that I think he may have unleashed something darker, something ancient, and ask her to owl Dumbledore before she comes after me." He paused, and a rueful grimace twitched one side of his mouth. "I have no doubt that she will come after me, she ever is a Gryffindor, but ensure that she contacts Dumbledore first. Tell him that I fear the Sangmalren has been unleashed." He pointed towards the door with his free hand. "Go. Now."

Draco nodded to show his understanding of the command if not the content and stumbled backwards. He turned and ran from the room, not stopping to watch as Snape moved to follow Hermione and Goyle into the cavernous depths.

End Chapter One


	2. Darkness Falls Chapter Two

Darkness Falls Chapter Two  
By Bellemaine Chercoeur  
bellemainec@yahoo.com

  


  
The walls of the lower levels were slick with moss and damp, and the further he moved downwards, the colder the surrounding air became. Even as he hurried, Snape feared that he would be too late. From the state of the classroom, Goyle had not been able to take the Granger girl without a fight. Even taken by surprise, she had obviously stood her ground and attempted to defend herself. Which made the fact that she had managed to somehow escape Goyle's attack even more worrisome. 

Snape felt the chilled air burning his lungs as he ran down corridor after corridor. Granger must have lost her wand; even taken by surprise she would have been able to hex Goyle. Her skills were far above those of her classmates, and he could not imagine her being.... Snape viciously told his mind to stop that train of thought. Granger was still out here somewhere. The best case scenario he could think of was that Granger had managed to wrest Goyle's wand away from him and decided to run. Even though she far outweighed him in the magical stakes, Goyle was still physically imposing. Without a wand, Granger would have been almost helpless. If she had managed to get his wand away from him, then blasted that hole into the lower levels, then all he had to do was trace the hallways until he found them. Goyle, enraged no doubt by her behaviour, would have followed her. Her many years of experience in roaming the hallways after dark would be of use to her, she knew Hogwarts almost as well as Potter and Weasley. He tried to convince himself that she would merely be playing a game of hide and seek, staying out of Goyle's way until she could either stop him or escape from him. 

The knot in his stomach that had formed when Draco confirmed that Lauren Bones's disappearance had been no accident twisted tighter. Somewhere in these dark caverns he would find them. And the only problem with his best case scenario was that he knew, deep down inside, that his fantasy best case scenario was simply that. 

Fantasy. 

Goyle had tapped the power of the Sangmalren. Once before, Snape had seen such a gaping hole. Once before, he had stood in a place that reeked of blood, yet no visible trace of it was to be seen. Hermione had not chosen to escape into the dungeons, she had been driven there. Goyle, the curse of the Sangmalren singing in his veins, had sent her on a quest. A quest to become his prey. He would stalk her with the cunning of a wild animal and the maliciousness of a human; he would drive her before him until she was blinded by terror and exhausted from the chase. He would not, could not, stop until he had sampled her hearts blood; the taste made sweeter by terror, exhaustion, despair and pain. 

Forcing himself to move faster, Snape thundered around a corner and almost fell headlong into the wall. Gingerly picking himself up from the hard flagstones, he searched the floor for what had tripped him. He picked up the pitiful remains of a wand. His fingers tightened on the broken shards of yew, and gently caressed the dragon heartstring core. Her wand. His mouth tightened, and he placed the fragments in his pocket. He had to find them. Now. 

**  
Draco pummeled his fists against the empty painting that covered the entry to the Gryffindor Tower. He had no idea where McGonagall's rooms were, so he had ran to the only Gryffindor place he knew would be guarded. The entrance to Gryffindor tower. At last, the Fat Lady responded to his urgent thumps and pleas for attention with a grumpy demand to be told what was going on. 

"Where is Professor McGonagall?" He forced the words out amidst his heaving breaths. "I have to see her, Professor Snape sent me." He saw that the Fat Lady was unmoved, and played his last desperate card. "It's about Hermione Granger, I must see Professor McGonagall now!" 

The Fat Lady shot him an assessing look. "Well seeing Miss Granger is not in the tower, and you are obviously distressed..." She paused and Draco stifled the urge to grab the painting from the wall and shake her until she told him where McGonagall was. Her slightly creaky voice resumed, "Down there. Left and third door along, the one with thistles around the frame." 

Draco skidded around the corner and threw himself at the door, pounding and begging McGonagall to answer quickly. He was rewarded by her sudden appearance before him, so sudden in fact that he stumbled forwards as the door suddenly opened. Before she could demand to know what was going on, Draco told her, the words tumbling out in coherent snatches. "Professor... Professor Snape told me to come here....Goyle is a Death Eater...Lauren Bones, and then he.....has Hermione Granger...tricked her into meeting him....I tried to get in I swear...went to Snape...he has gone after them....Blood you could smell blood but there wasn't anything there....she was missing...he told me to come here.....you must owl Professor Dumbledore immediately...he said the Sangmalren has been released." 

Professor McGonagall paled, her eyes wide with apprehension. Silently, she grabbed Draco's sleeve and pulled him into her chambers. Depositing him in a nearby chair, she hurried to her fireplace and threw a frantic handful of floo powder onto the glowing embers. She snapped a single word, a word that Draco missed as he was half bent over trying to catch his breath. At any other time he might have been surprised at the face that appeared in the fireplace, but the events of the night so far had left him slightly numb and hard to shock. 

"Yes Minerva?" The person that had answered McGonagall's call was familiar to any child who came from a wizarding family. The glossy raven hair that shone with silver streaks, the stunning blue eyes, the creamy skin. Morgana le Fay had entered legend eons ago, had stood beside Merlin and Arthur, yet Draco would swear that it was she. 

McGonnagall dispelled any lingering doubt with her next words. "Morgana, I must speak with Albus. Immediately. It is a matter of life or death." 

Morgana nodded. "You would not have risked the contact otherwise." She gestured to a person standing near her, and long moments later the wise face of Albus Dumbledore appeared in the fireplace. 

The words tumbled from McGonagall's lips, and a part of Draco marveled at how well she could dissemble when under pressure. She must have known that the floo systems were not free from tampering, and she protected her message accordingly. 

"We have a serious problem, Headmaster. The son of one of our finer patrons has laid a problem at my feet, at the recommendation of one of our most trusted members. We have news of a new start Albus, news of one we wish to contact and confirmation of the status of a beloved student. The trusted one asks that you return immediately. This situation requires your attention. He calls you." 

Draco watched in fascination as the well-known face of Albus Dumbledore changed into the visage of someone immensely powerful, immensely determined and quite unfamiliar to the young Slytherin. The usual geniality, kindness and slight air of vagueness had disappeared, to be replaced by the powerful wizard only a select few ever saw. In that moment, Draco realised why the Dark Lord had never attacked Hogwarts directly. 

Dumbledore nodded once, then asked McGonagall to step back from the fireplace. She did so, and dragged Draco out of the chair and pushed him against the far wall. "Look away, Mr Malfoy. Do not watch as he comes through." 

An incandescent light burst from the fireplace, and Draco threw both hands up to protect his eyes. Two figures stumbled into the room, and as the light flared about them, a sense of immense power filled the room. The sense died with the light, but Draco knew that he had not imagined it. Voldemort was not the only powerful wizard in the world. 

Morgana strode forward and clasped both his shoulders in a firm grip. She locked her gaze to his, and he felt the force of her presence settle like a tangible thing about them. He was dimly aware of Dumbledore coming to stand beside them. Morgana softly said, "Tell us all, Draco Malfoy," and without any hesitation, Draco did so.  
**  
Hermione fought to hang onto the last scrap of reason left within her mind. Goyle had hunted her like an animal seeks its prey, driving her before him into the dark cellars like hunting hounds drove the fox and hare before them. He had taken her by surprise, stunning her long enough to throw her off balance, but she had kept hold of her wand. For a while. No matter what charm, hex or spell she had thrown at him, he had shrugged it off, overcoming it with seemingly no effort. It was only when he had struck her for the first time that she allowed herself to realise that Goyle had not tricked her into some kind of stupid and petty wizard's duel. As his heavy hand had smashed into her jaw, grinding her teeth against her tongue and filling her mouth with blood, she acknowledged that Goyle was not some silly schoolboy seeking gratification through bullying. She had stumbled backwards and fallen, spitting blood, and he had laughed. Not his usual thickheaded laugh; something infinitely crueler. Something that delighted in her pain. Something ... almost inhuman. 

The next few moments were mercifully scrambled in her brain. He had struck her, and although she had tried to retaliate through the only option left to her, most of her magic was concentrated on keeping herself alive. She thickened the air around her to slow down his punches, softened walls so her landings were less heavy, even tried to create a barrier to keep him away. Nothing worked for long, and after he had somehow thrown her halfway across the room; she knew he was growing bored. As she staggered to her feet, he snarled at her. "Run." 

She stared at him, befuddled as he backhanded her again. "Run!" He hit her again, throwing her in the opposite direction. "Run!" 

Seeing the terrible light shining in his eyes, Hermione gathered as much concentration as she could, pulling pain, anger, fear and hope into one seething mass of will. She released it at the floor, and plummeted into the cellars as the stones beneath her feet exploded into nothingness. 

**  
"Parry, are you awake?" Lavender Brown kept her voice as quiet as possible as she asked the question. 

Parvati Patil rolled on to her back and looked in Lavendar's direction. "Barely. What's up Lav?" 

"I'm not entirely sure, but I am worried. Lumos." A soft glow filled the room, and Lavendar sat up in her bed, tucking the quilt under her arms as she did so. "Hermione's gone." 

"What?" 

"Hermione is not here. Her bed has not been slept in, and she's gone!" 

Parvati threw a hand in front of her mouth as tried to stifle a yawn. "Well, she wasn't here at curfew, why are you worried now?" 

Carefully smoothing her sleep-tousled hair over her ears, Lavender paused, then said, "Remember our reading in Divination this morning? I think this is the true Event!" 

Parvati's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" 

Lavender nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Remember, "Janus shall lay his favour upon he who calls to blood. The lioness shall be taken, the Dragon shall fly, the Serpent shall strike and the phoenix will burn. At the turn of the tide, that which was lost shall be found and hope triumphs." It all fits!" 

Silence reigned, broken only by the sound of a deep breath being drawn. Pavarti raised an eyebrow, then asked, "And how does all of that relate to Hermione not being in bed?" 

Fixing her Divination partner with a cold glare, Lavender said, "Professor Trelawney said we must look beyond the material world to truly see the future." 

"Well, yes, but seeing the material world is only showing that Hermione is missing from her bed in the middle of the night.....oh. I see your point. I suppose Hermione could be seen as a lioness... What do you think we should do?" 

"I think there is only one thing that we can do. We need to get Harry and Ron; who else manages to sneak around Hogwarts in the middle of the night without getting caught?" 

Five minutes later, two hastily dressed Gryffindor girls snuck into the seventh year boys dormitory in Gryffingor Tower. As stealthily as possible, Parvati headed towards Harry Potter's bed. She was just about to shake Harry awake when Lavender grabbed her arm and hissed a question at her," How do you know that Harry is in that bed?" 

"Easy! He is always in the second to the left one." 

"And how do you know that?" 

"Um. Common Knowledge?" 

"Parry, I think we need to have a talk about why you are so familiar with the boys dormitory." 

"What in the bloody hell are you two doing in here?" 

Lavender and Pavarti exchanged a look that positively reeked of caught in the act chagrin, then Lavender bent down to whisper to him, "We have a problem; Hermione is missing." 

Both girls managed to stifle a scream as Ron Weasley popped up in the next bed and said, "You mean she's not in bed? Since when did Hermione Granger have adventures without us?" 

Lavender shot him a look full of disdain, whilst Parvati said scornfully, "I don't think she's having an adventure, Ron. I think something terrible has happened. Don't you remember what happened in Divination today?" 

"To be honest, I try to actively forget everything that happens in Divination. I don't need that rubbish cluttering up my memory when there are vital Quidditch stats to be memorized." 

Having reached the limit of his tolerance, and concerned about the likelihood of waking up everyone else in the room if a full scale brawl over the legitimacy of Divination erupted over his bed, Harry climbed out of bed, grabbed his dressing gown and demanded that the three of them follow him into the Common Room to sort things out. 

Fifteen minutes later, and after much arguing, Ron and Harry agreed that regardless of whether Divination was an art or inexact science, the bottom line was that Hermione was not in her bed. As neither Harry nor Ron had any idea that she was planning a nocturnal excursion, they agreed that her absence was a concern. Harry summoned his invisibility clock, and together the four Gryffindors crept out into the Halls. Unfortunately, one invisibility cloak does not cover four grown up sized Gryffindors, and they realised that they were going to be forced to rely on skill and luck when it came to evading Filch and Mrs Norris. If even one of them had even the slightest inkling of the danger that stalked the Halls that night their mood would have been more sombre and careful, and the results might have been less tragic. 

--------------------------------------------- Author's Notes ------------------------------------------------

I have increased the rating on this story from PG13 to R; just to be on the safe side. There will be no lemony goodness, I am more concerned about the violence inherent in the Sangmalren, it is going to get nasty...er!   


Otherwise, please let me know what you think, I welcome any and all comments. 

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	3. Darkness Falls Chapter Three

Darkness Falls Chapter Three  
By Bellemaine Cherceour  
bellemainec@yahoo.com

  


  
The library was empty. Only the ever-present books resided there, and although they diligently searched the stacks, the four Gryffindors could find no trace of Hermione. 

"Well she's not here. Although she has left all her books here so it looks like she was planning on coming back for them tonight. Any idea where she could be?" 

Lavender considered for a second, then said, "Well I think the Astronomy Tower is out." 

Harry exchanged a look with Ron, then forced himself to ask, "Why?" 

Parvati, shooting a death glare towards Lavender for revealing Secrets to the Uninitiated, tried to divert them by saying, "Hermione doesn't like heights remember." 

Ron snorted. "I know Hermione doesn't like heights, that's why I had George and Fred bundle her onto the back of a broom during a Quidditch game at the Burrow! She's fine with the Tower though, I think it's only flying that makes her slightly queasy." 

Parvati seized the opportunity, "How did you know that Hermione was fine with the top of the Astronomy Tower, Ron? I didn't think she had been up there since she stormed out of Divination back in third year." 

Harry watched in stunned astonishment as a blush rampaged over his friend's face, turning it to precisely the same shade as his hair. "Bloody hell, Ron! Did you snog Hermione? Up the top of the Astronomy Tower?" 

Amazingly enough, Ron was able to blush harder. 

Lavender let out a whoop of victory and clapped her hands together. "I told you! I told you all that fighting, that whole stand back and shake hands thing after she was petrified, the way Ron acted like a bear with a sore head when Victor Krum was around; I knew it! You so owe me, Pavarti! Correct location and participants! I win!" 

"Win what?" Harry managed to tear his gaze from Ron's face with difficulty. 

"A robe at Miss Malkin's and a beauty treatment at Madame Alchemie's Salon off Diagon Alley. I am going to revel in it. Although, was there was shagging involved? I win more if there was!" 

Ron finally found his tongue. "Shut up Lavender. None of your business." 

Harry paused then said quietly, "I do think it might have been my business, Ron. At least a hint that my two best friends were going to be something more to each other. That might have been appreciated." 

Ron grabbed Harry's elbow and dragged him a short distance away for some privacy. Lavender and Pavarti assisted his attempt by falling to squabbling over precisely what was involved in the reward of a beauty treatment at Madame Alchemie's. 

"Harry, I swear to you it was just the once. I tricked her, left her a note that said we needed to see her urgently on the top of the Tower. She arrived and was pretty upset to find that I had tricked her. I screwed up the courage to tell her how I felt about her, how jealous I had been of Krum and how I wanted us to be together and I realised that she wasn't really listening. She had been looking at the stars and peering over the edge of the Tower. She turned to me and grinned, then said, "Ron! I'm not scared of heights, only of flying! Thank you!" Then she threw herself at me and we hugged. She pulled back a bit, apologized for not listening and asked why we were there. I just leant down and ... kissed her. It was nice, and I certainly enjoyed it, but there were no fireworks. Hermione lifted an eyebrow at me and asked if I was alright, and then gave me the speech about how we were friends, and she treasured me as one of her best friends and how we always would be friends and how she would always remember that I was the one who showed her that she was only scared of flying not of heights. All in all, it was a bit mortifying, so I didn't say anything about it; I wasn't sure that Hermione wanted me to either." 

Lavender, having agreed that while a deep conditioning hair treatment would not count, a leg depilation, facial mask and massage would count as part of the rewarding beauty treatment, coughed to catch Ron and Harry's attention. "Everything ok?" 

Ron looked at Harry, who smiled and thumped Ron on the shoulder. "Never better." 

Pavarti grinned, then said, "Except for our missing friend?" 

Harry sobered immediately, and Ron cast a harried glare about him. "Right, if I was Hermione where would I be?" 

Harry grinned cheekily and said, "Not with you apparently." 

Ron glared. "And you ask why I didn't tell you?" 

***  
It seemed to take hours. His legs ached and his lungs burned. He had no real sense of passing time, and Snape refused to consider it too closely as he knew that the longer he took to find them, the less chance he had of intervening. He mentally cursed the blundering Ministry official that had called Dumbledore away from Hogwarts. Of any wizard, living or dead, Snape would trust Dumbledore to be able to stop Goyle, curse or no curse. If anything, Dumbledore might have sensed the fact that Goyle was under the influence of something so dark. Hell, he should have realised. He was head of Slytherin House, he was responsible for his students. He should have known. He should have **known**. Goyle was one of his, and it was not so farfetched to consider Goyle as a possible initiate. Although, Goyle had not been present at any of the meetings Snape had been invited to... 

The thought dragged Snape to a halt. He forced himself to catalogue the attendants at the last Death Eater meetings he had been invited to attend. The last Death Eater initiation had taken place three months ago; a girl from Durmstrang who had transferred to England to study at Avalon. The last initiation of a Hogwarts student had been ten months before that. The sick feeling in Snape's stomach increased as he realised that Lucius Malfoy had extremely effectively cut him out of the loop. His cover as a loyal follower of Voldemort may still be intact, but due to the political jockeying of Malfoy, Snape had been cast from the innermost circle. If he was being omitted from initiations, how many other clandestine gatherings had he been excluded from? 

Draco. Even Draco had known; had come to him when he realised that the darkness was too much to bear. Malfoy junior should have thought him to be a comrade in arms, a fellow Death Eater who lived for Voldemort's ascendance. Yet Draco had come to him, and told him of Goyle's involvement, of how the Sangmalren had been called, had betrayed his Father, the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord, all of it in one fell swoop. He had risked it all on the recognition that Snape was no true servant but a spy. Which raised a most definite question; why had he not been killed before now? Why had Voldemort ordered his followers to leave him in ignorant safety? Why had be been tagged as untouchable? 

The terrified scream that echoed down the tunnel harshly recalled him to reality, and he thundered down the hallway towards the cry. He turned a corner and found himself barely able to keep from vomiting as the sickening stench of fresh blood and fear surrounded him. 

**  
Flanked by Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, the Custodian of Light and the Lore of Avalon swept through the halls of Hogwarts. Morgana le Fay entered the shattered classroom, and peered into the jagged hole. 

"He went down there. He went after them, he went after her." Draco spoke quietly, the habitual arrogance completely wiped from his voice, his countenance and his attitude. 

Morgana paused to lay a hand on his cheek. "You have done well, young Malfoy. This has not been an easy task for you, and I thank you for your choice. I swear to you, you will not come to regret it. You will stand under my protection." She turned towards Dumbledore, and said, "The longer he remains free, the stronger the Sangmalren will grow. If he fully tastes her blood, it may be beyond even our power to contain him." 

Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "Time is one of our greatest allies in halting the power of the Sangmalren, Draco. Only in the hunt can it be captured and contained, and it will be at great risk to those involved. Snape knows this, as he knows that it feeds on blood and fear and dark magic." 

"It is time Albus." Minerva extended her arm, and soft golden light spilled from her wand into the darkness below them. "We must go." 

Morgana and Dumbledore nodded, then in turn stepped into the gaping chasm. Left behind, Malfoy sat down to wait for their return. His idea to remain silent and still until they returned lasted all of thirty seconds before he pushed himself to his feet and began to pace. 

*** 

All the usual places turned up empty, and even the unlikelier places held no trace of Hermione. Just as Harry and Lavender were arguing about fetching Professor McGonnagal to help, Pavarti silenced them all by flinging up a hand and demanding that they shush. 

Silently she crept towards the hall on her left. She listened for a moment, then beckoned them over. "I thought I heard someone speaking." 

A crash resounded from the Arithmancy classroom down the hall, and the four of them crept closer. 

Ron let out a low whistle. "Bloody hell. What happened here?" The wall surrounding the classroom was door was scorched and chipped, and a sizeable chunk of the masonry had been literally blown away, creating in effect a new door. 

Together the four of them crept closer to the hole, peering into the gap. 

Draco Malfoy paced the length of the room. As they watched he punched the nearest wall, muttered something and stormed back towards the front of the room. As he came nearer they could see that his knuckles were scraped and bleeding, obviously he had struck that wall more than once. They could also make out the words that were spilling angrily from his lips. "Should have done it. Should have stopped him sooner. My fault. Father is going to kill me. Should have told. My fault if she dies. Should have seen it sooner. Let him kill Lauren. He'll kill them. Trust Dumbledore. Trust Dumbledore? What does he know? Father....Father is wrong. My fault, I let him, I knew. Snape will fix it. Why did it have to be her? He'll take his time, he hates her almost as much as Potter. Damn it all Granger, couldn't you see it was a trap?" 

Although the first words had caused glances of bafflement, Malfoy's obviously upset tirade had kept them quiet. At Hermione's name, Harry launched himself into the room and pinned Malfoy to the nearest desk. Ron was close behind him and helped to persuade Malfoy to remain where he was through the simple expedient of resting his elbow against his throat. 

Lavender and Parvati hurried into the room after them, moving to stand beside Ron and Harry. 

Draco's eyes were icy, and he said nothing; his silence in stark contrast to his behavior mere moments ago. Harry tightened his grip and said, "Where is Hermione?" 

Draco stared at him, eyes full of antipathy. Silence reigned. 

Ron pressed his elbow harder against Draco's windpipe. "We heard you, Malfoy. What have you done to her?" Recognising that he was cutting of Malfoy's air supply, Ron lifted his elbow, just a little. Enough for him to speak, just enough for him to breathe. 

If anything, Draco managed to look even more arrogant. Pavarti could have sworn that he was managing to look down his aristocratic nose at all of them, even though he was looking up at them. "Where is she? You must know Draco!" 

The iciness in Draco's gaze disappeared, to be replaced by a bone deep weariness. "She's on the run. He tricked her into meeting him, and then he attacked her. She managed to get into the dungeons, and Professor Snape has followed them. He sent me to Professor McGonagall, and she called Professor Dumbledore, and then the two of them went down there, along with someone who looked exactly..." 

Ron cut off his rather rambling explanation by leaning on his throat once more. Harry said coldly, "What do you take us for, Malfoy? Tell us the truth. What the hell have you done to Hermione?" 

Lavender pulled at Ron's arm, tugging gently until he released his hold. "He is no use to us if he does not speak." Pavarti leant down and held Draco's gaze, as Lavender said, "Tell us where Hermione is, Draco. We are all worried about her." 

Draco said nothing, merely stared up at them. Pavarti straightened, dragging her hands through her hair as she did so. "He is telling the truth, I can see it in his eyes." She turned and stared down the classroom. "Hermione is in great danger." 

At this pronouncement, Lavender gasped, Harry and Ron shared yet another skeptical glance, and Draco concentrated on dragging oxygen into his burning lungs. 

"You could tell all of that by looking into Draco's eyes?" Ron sounded skeptical. 

Parvati turned back to look at him. "Yes. By looking in his eyes, and by also seeing that huge hole in the floor, and catching the scent of blood in the air." 

** 

  
Hermione shuddered violently as Goyle approached. He had thrown her against the wall, and she now lay huddled at its base. Exhaustion lay like a heavy blanket over her, the stench of blood hung in her nostrils and her lungs burned in a desperate quest for air. Tears of terror and frustration swam in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks to mingle with the blood that spattered from a laceration near her right temple. The taste of blood and fear was bitter against her tongue. Her mind screamed in an attempt at self-protection that this was not happening. Her eyes told her otherwise, and a scream of realization clawed its way out of her. 

As sobbing breaths tore at her throat, she gathered the little strength remaining in her limbs and waited for Goyle to get close enough to her. He sneered at her show of fear and made a sick show of licking his lips in anticipation. 

As he stooped to drag her to her feet, Hermione launched herself upwards, smashing the top of her head squarely into his nose before raining whatever blows she could land on his face and neck. Snarling, Goyle threw her back against the wall. Lurching after her, his fist smashed into the wall as Hermione ducked beneath the blow. Howling in rage, Goyle swung the wand towards her. 

Knowing it was her last chance, Hermione spat the blood that had gathered in her mouth from her aching split lip straight into his eyes. Goyle reeled back in surprise and she lunged for his wand, caching hold of it and hanging on grimly. 

With both her hands seeking purchase on the wand, Hermione felt it slip from her grasp. As the tip of the wand swung wildly between them, she reached deep inside herself. Knowing that it was wrong, knowing that she would never be the same again, Hermione knowingly cast her first Unforgivable curse against a fellow Human being. 

"Crucio," she whispered. 


	4. Darkness Falls Chapter Three

Oops. Thanks for pointing out that I had managed to upload chapter three twice. Stupid internet connection died on me, and as far as I could see it only went up once. Apologies for misleading, I knew it was a cliffie, but not that it was **that** much of a cliffie :)  
  
In recompense, I give you the first paragraph of the next chapter. Sorry, tis short but can't give any more away at the moment! Enjoy!  
  
Bellemaine  
  
**  
  
Snape's stomach rebelled as Hermione crashed into the stones, then lay still. He  
  
watched in numb horror as Goyle approached her, wand raised. Moving as stealthily as a cat he advanced across the room, knowing that surprise would be the key. She suddenly sprang at Goyle, and Snape hastily jerked his wand away, realizing at the last moment that her movement had placed her in the line of fire. Seeing the desperation on her face, he threw himself across the room, praying to whatever gods were listening that he would not be too late.  
  
His heart lurched as he heard her say "Crucio." 


End file.
